Greater New Orleans

Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson has also ordered that Williams pay $1.2 million in restitution to the Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(Middle District Court of Louisiana)

Sonya Williams is accused of establishing two companies in Alexandria – Fusion Services and Grace Social Services – for the purpose of using unlicensed social workers to visit Medicare beneficiaries in their homes several times a week to perform case management, counseling, and social interaction services.

Green said Williams submitted false claims for reimbursement from Medicare indicating that the beneficiaries had received individual, face-to-face psychotherapy from a licensed clinical social worker when no such services had been provided.

Medicare paid Fusion and Grace nearly $350,000 as a result of the billings.

Much of the profits were transferred from company bank accounts into Williams’ personal accounts, Green said.

Chief Judge Brian A. Jackson ordered that Williams pay $1.2 million in restitution to the Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This amount includes the total profits from Fusion and Grace, as well as two identical companies that Williams operated in the Baton Rouge area, Alpha Social Services, L.L.C. and Breitling Investment Company, L.L.C.

“Those who abuse our federal health care programs through fraud and corruption should understand our commitment to bring them to justice,” Green said.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, the FBI and AdvanceMed, the Medicare Program Safeguard Contractor conducted the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Catherine M. Maraist and Leetra Harris prosecuted the case.